Genesis 18:17
in Genesis 18And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do;
KJV
And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
⋯
This verse in Genesis 18
Commentary
5 notes on this verseShall I hide from Abraham - That is, I will not hide. A common mode of speech in Scripture - a question asked when an affirmative is designed. Do men gather grapes of thorns? Men do not gather grapes of thorns, etc.
This site's exposition
they looked out over Sodom
on Genesis 18:16-17
The meal ends with the three looking out over Sodom, and Abraham walks with them to see them off. Clarke counts that walk as hospitality of its own in a country with no roads. God asks whether He will hide from Abraham what He is about to do.
This site's exposition
hide from Abraham
Adam Clarke reads the LORD's question as a common form in Scripture, asked when the answer is already settled. The LORD will tell Abraham what He is about to do. Verses 18 and 19 give the reasons, a great nation and a household taught to keep His way.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But God here gives two other reasons:-- (1.) Abraham must know, for he is a friend and a favourite, and one that God has a particular kindness for and great things in store for. He is to become a great nation; and not only so, but in the Messiah, who is to come from his loins, All nations of the earth shall be blessed.
And the Lord said,....
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיהֹוָ֖ה | vayahweh | and Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אָמָ֑ר | ʾamar | he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַֽמְכַסֶּ֤ה | hamkhaseh | ¿ [be] concealing | H3680 → | 152 times |
| אֲנִי֙ | ʾani | [will] I | H589 → | 874 times |
| מֵֽאַבְרָהָ֔ם | meavraham | from Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| עֹשֶֽׂה׃ | ʾoseh | [am] about to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
וַֽיהֹוָ֖הand Yahweh
vayahwehH3068 →6520 times
אָמָ֑רhe said
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
הַֽמְכַסֶּ֤ה¿ [be] concealing
hamkhasehH3680 →152 times
אֲנִי֙[will] I
ʾaniH589 →874 times
מֵֽאַבְרָהָ֔םfrom Abraham
meavrahamH85 →175 times
אֲשֶׁ֖ר[that] which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
עֹשֶֽׂה׃[am] about to do
ʾosehH6213 →2628 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Amos 3:7Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.
it leads to
- John 15:15
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 1:1
This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John,
- Daniel 9:22–27
He instructed me and spoke with me, saying: “O Daniel, I have come now to give you insight and understanding.
- Genesis 6:13
Then God said to Noah, “The end of all living creatures has come before Me, because through them the earth is full of violence. Now behold, I will destroy both them and the earth.
- John 15:15
Through
John 15:15No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have…
it leads to
- Psalms 25:14
The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 2:9–12
Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
- Matthew 13:11
He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
- Psalms 25:14
Through
James 2:23And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God.
it leads to
- Genesis 15:6
Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
- Genesis 15:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies8
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.